Czech Railways cancels tender for high-speed train carriages

Czech Railways (ČD) has cancelled a tender for up to 90 new passenger carriages designed to operate at speeds of up to 230 km/h.

The tender, launched in August last year, had an estimated value of around CZK 8 billion. Only one bid was submitted, by a consortium of Siemens Mobility and Škoda Group, which offered to supply the carriages for CZK 8.36 billion, according to the transport news website Zdopravy.cz.

The cancellation was confirmed in a document published on Wednesday. Although the document did not state the reason, ČD spokesperson Petr Šťáhlavský later said the tender had been scrapped because the bid exceeded the estimated contract value.

The contract covered the purchase of up to 90 carriages that could be assembled into ten nine-car trainsets, each with a capacity of about 550 passengers.